Diaper



5. J. CICHETTI 2,509,858

DIAPER Filed June 25, 1947 Patented May 30, 1950 UNITED STATES RATENT QFFICE DIAPER Grace J. Cichetti, Ozone Park, N. Y.

Application June 25, 1947, Serial No. 757,026

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to diapers intended for wear by infants and small children for protective purposes, and one of the objects of the invention is to provide an article of this character which is adjustable to fit children of various sizes; which shall be pinless and which will lit the children properly and can be worn comfortably at all times.

I am aware that prior to the present invention, efforts have been made to provide so-called pinless diapers of various kinds, in which the conventional safety pins as fastening elements were dispensed with and various substitutes therefor were employed. In many cases the fastening means employed were such that in adjusting the garment about the waist and leg openings, the body of the garment was gathered or pleated or otherwise bunched about these openings, thus bringing irregularities in the garment in contact with the tender skin of the child and resulting in chafing and discomfort. In other cases, the fastening means were such that the same failed to properly adjust the openings in the garment to the correct size; some of them often failed to hold the adjustment during movements of an active baby, and others causing pulling strain to be exerted on parts of the garment to such an extent as to result in improper fit. In view of the various deficiencies found in garments of this character, the average mother has found it necessary to rely upon the conventional safety pin as the means for fastening the garment in place, despite the dangers following from the use of these fasteners.

Bearing in mind the objections encountered in various known types of diapers and fastening means therefor, the present invention contemplates the provision of a diaper which can be fitted about the infant and maintained in its adjusted position by improved fastening means which wholly dispense with safety pins and other elements of danger to the child. The invention further contemplates the provision of fastening means which, when in its adjusted position, has

its various parts disposed outwardly of the garment so that none of the same, including the tying instrumentalities used, are brought in contact with the tender skin of the infant. The result is, that the overlapped parts of the garment,

adjacent to the waist and leg openings therein,

are smooth, free from corrugations or pleats, and despite the fact that the garment possesses a relatively wide margin for adjustment, these adjusted parts are such that they are unlikely to cause the child chafing and discomfort even during prolonged wear.

These and other objects are attained by the invention, a more particular description of which will hereinafter appear and be set forth in the claim. appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown, Fig. 1 is a face view of the improved diaper in its open or unfolded condition; Fig. 2 is a view of the back face of a portion of the diaper, showing how the tying tapes are secured thereto; Fig. 3 is a front view, in perspective, of the diaper as it appears in its adjusted position of wear; and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a part of the diaper, showing how the portions of the diaper are overlapped at the waist to secure the required adjustment.

With reference to the drawing, I indicates the body of the diaper, the same being made of any of the known textile fabrics commonly used for diaper purposes, and the diaper may be made of one or more thicknesses of fabric stitched together if necessary to give the requisite bulk and protection to the infant. In the form shown, the diaper body is of substantially rectangular shape and when transversely folded upon itself on the central line '2, it is divided into a front panel 4 and a similarly shaped rear panel 3.

The front panel 5 is provided near its upper edge 7 with the two groups of spaced eyelet openings, or buttonholes 5 and 6. Said panel is also provided with the two groups of angularly-disposed openings indicated at B and 9, the several openings above-mentioned being intended for the selective reception of tying tapes to adjustably secure the garment about the waist of the child and about its legs.

For the above purpose tying tapes are employed, one of which is indicated at it, the same being secured, as by the stitching l l, to the back face of the rear panel 3. The stitching I l which attaches the tape to the rear panel 3 is located between the free ends of the tape so that the tape is thus provided with the two free-flowing ends l2 and i3. Said tape It is adapted for cooperation with any one of the holes indicated at 6, in a manner to be explained for the adjustment and securement of the garment at the waist. A second tape, for cooperation with any selected one of the holes 9 is indicated at M, the same being attached adjacent to the side edge of the body portion 5 by the stitches l5, said tape being also attached to the rear face of the panel 4, and the same is provided with the two freeflowing ends indicated respectively at l6 and I1.

At i8 is shown a tape attached to the back face of the panel 3 by the stitches I9, said tape having the two free-flowing ends 20 and 2! and being adapted to cooperate with any one of the selected holes in the group 8. In a similar manner, a tape 22 is attached to the back face of the panel 3 by the stitches 23, said tape having the two freerlowing ends 24 and 25 and being adapted to cooperate with any selected hole in the group 9.

By reference to Figs. 3 and 4, the manner in which the diaper is placed in adjusted position on the child will be readily understood. The side edges of the front and rear panels 3 and d are overlapped to an extent necessary to cause the garment to fit snugly but comfortably about the waist and around the legs of the infant. The edges of the rear panel are placed behind those of the front panel and one of the ends of each tape is extended through the selected opening required to secure proper fit of the garment. The manner in which the types engage the openings at the waistline of the garment is shown in Fig. 4, wherein the free-flowing end [2 of the tape H! is shown extending through one of the openings 5 and the second end, of the tape, indicated at [3, extends outwardly from between the two overlapped edge portions of the panels 3 and l. When the parts of the diaper are placed together in the manner indicated, the two tapeends l2 and I3 are tied together as clearly seen in Fig. 3 and the parts of the garment will thus be retained in their overlapped position and the garment held securely, yet comfortably about the infantv In similar manner, the various tapes are applied through the selected holes in each group and in each instance, it is to be noted that the portions of the tapes are disposed either between the overlapped parts of the body of the garment or-are on the outside of the garm nt. The result is that the inside of the garment, or that which contacts withthe body of the child and particularly Where parts overlap as indicated at 25 in Fig. 3 is wholly without protuberances or irregularities, thus permitting the garment to be worn under all conditions without causing discomfort or irritation. The provision of a plurality of spaced holes for adjustable engagement by theseveral tapes, permits the garment to be adjusted with the facility afforded by the widelyemployed safety pin, while at the same time the safety of the child is not jeopardized. Since the 5 fastening elements is avoided, and which when used are likely to be detached by the child and involve an element of danger to it. The garment is thus compeltely self-contained, carrying its own fastening and adjusting means and which are of such a nature that the same may be freely laundered as part of the garment.

While I have shown a single embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto but is broad enough to cover all structures coming Within the scope of the annexed claim.

What I claim is:

A diaper having a body composed of a fabric panel doubled upon itself to form it into a back portion and a front portion, the front portion having a group of openings arranged in a line substantiall parallel and adjacent to the top edge of said front portion, said front portion having a second group of openings located below the first group and arranged angularly and extending inwardly from the opposite side edges of the panel, the back portion having no openings and having tapes attached to its outer surface, the front portion havin no tapes and each tape on the back portion being fastened between its ends by stitching extending trans versely of the panel and substantially parallel to the top edge of the back portion of the garment, the front portion of the panel being adapted to overlap the back portion so as to bring each of the tapes to a position Where it can be passed through a selectedopening in the front portion to thereby regulate the extent of overlap of the front and back portions of the garment, the extension of the tapes through the openings acting to hold the overlapped parts of the garment in their overlapped position.

GRACE J. CICHETTI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re.2l,092 Lankenau May 16, 1939 1,29,015 Collins Oct. 3, 1933 2,242,977 Marcos May 20, 1941 2,283,178 Brown May 19, 1942 2,347,867 Alban May 2, 1944 

